Relationship between the position angles of elongated structures and polarization vector of the compact radio source 3C84 AT 2, 4, and 6-cm wavelengths

Abstract

The position angles (PA) of the elongated structure of the compact source 3C84 are compared with those of the E polarization vector of its 2, 4, and 6-cm emission. It is shown that during 1972–1984, the E vector had two preferred directions with PA = -10° and PA = +17°, which correspond to the directions of the two principal elongated structures of the radio source, which contain moderately relativistic subparsec-scale jets. The parallel directions of the polarization vector and radio jets for the source 3C84 agree with the model of magnetic field and relativistic electron cloud distributions in the moderately relativistic jets of the BL Lac objects examined by Grabusda et al. (1994).